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Free Picks: Cleveland vs. Charlotte Gambling Lines & Handicapping Preview

NBA Betting? Cavs vs Hornets Predictions

Friday night NBA betting action sees the Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, North Carolina. Cappers Picks provides free NBA handicapping tips all season long.

Things have not gone according to plan thus far for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

NBA Basketball Odds

Cleveland Cavaliers (18-14) vs. Charlotte Hornets (10-23)
Friday, Jan 2
7:00 PM ET
Time Warner Cable Arena (Charlotte, North Carolina)
NBA Basketball Betting Lines: Cavs -2
NBA Basketball O/U: Opened at 194.5
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Currently sitting as the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers look to get things turned around Friday night without Lebron James or Kevin Love when they invade Charlotte to take on the Hornets.

Cleveland

At this point in the season, Cleveland fans and players expected the team to be near the top or at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

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That certainly isn’t the case as the Cavaliers sit in 5th place in the Eastern Conference and 4.5 games off the pace of the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Central division standings. The Cavs have lost 3 in a row, including two blowout home losses to the Pistons and Bucks.

Leading to the Cavaliers problems has been the inability to stay healthy. The Cavaliers announced that Lebron James would miss 2 weeks with a knee injury. That adds to the problems of having Kevin Love and Shawn Marion out with back and ankle problems, respectively. Along with these key injuries, Anderson Varejao is also out for the remainder of the season.

With the inability of staying healthy for the Cavs, PG Kyrie Irving knows he must step up and fill the role of being team leader. Irving, who averages, 20.8 points a game, has stepped up in the Cavaliers two recent games.

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He went for 35 against Atlanta on Dec. 30 and 25 points on New Years Eve against the Bucks. Unfortunately, Irving couldn’t get much help from the rest of his teammates in both contests.

In order to turn this around and start having some success, Cleveland will need Tristan Thompson (9.3 ppg) and Dion Waiters (10.3 ppg) to start contributing on the offensive end.

Charlotte

While the injuries haven’t piled up as much as they have for the Cavaliers, the Hornets are also feeling the wrath of having one of their superstars being injured. C Al Jefferson will miss 4 weeks with a groin injury. The Hornets have gone spiraling down with 4 straight losses, including a 102-83 debacle in Houston in their last game. This 4 game losing streak comes on the heels of the Hornets previously winning 4 in a row.

During their 4 game skid Charlotte has averaged just 86.5 points per contest. The drop is even more significant since the Hornets were averaging 107.8 points a contest during their 4 game winning streak. Shooting just above 47 percent during their winning streak, the Hornets have seen that number drop to just 36.3 percent during their past 4 losses.

In order to have any success, Kemba Walker will need to step up and fill the scoring role that Al Jefferson help. Walker, who averages 17.5 points per contest, will need to contribute more than the 12 point performance he had against Houston. In his previous two home games, Walker has scored 42 vs Orlando on Dec. 27 and 28 points vs Milwaukee on Dec. 29.

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Inside Time Warner Cable Arena Charlotte is just 7-11 S.U. Backers have not been pleased as the Hornets are just 6-12 ATS at home.

NBA Basketball Handicapping Trends:

  • Hornets are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a SU loss of more than 10 points.
  • Hornets are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
  • Cavaliers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a S.U. loss.
  • Cavaliers are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 vs. Eastern Conference.

Free 4* NBA Basketball Pick: Cleveland –

Both teams recent track records ATS have not been pretty whatsoever.

Cleveland 96, Charlotte, 87

That being said, expect Kyrie Irving to step up and be a leader Friday night and get the Cavaliers back in the win column.

Check out our Updated NBA Betting Odds.

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By Tony M

Tony is new to Cappers Picks and has been betting on sports since the first day he turned 18. He is a 22 year old Cleveland native who lives and breathes Indians baseball. His dream is to be part of a championship celebration at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.